Floor covering stripper



Feb. 24, 1959 y. A. SINGLETERRY ET'AL 2,

' FLOOR COVERING'STRIPPER Filed 0st. 28, 1955 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 1,, .W 7J1 2w y Fig 2 Ve rnon A. Single terry Bernard D. Brown JNVENTORS.

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Feb. 24, 1959 v. A. SINGLETERRY ET AL FLOOR COVERING STRIPPER 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 28, 1955 Fig.3

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U S. m, r R m e n 0 WT a A Mom MI nafV .mBm 0 M in a mm Q2 8 VB 82,874,946 FLOOR covnnnscsrmrrnn Vernon A. Singleterry and Bernard D.Brown Rosemead, Calif.

Application October 28, 1955, Serial No. 543,508 1 Claim. (Cl. 262- 13)the market, such as asphalt, rubber, cork and a large group of plastictiles. The primary object of this invention is to provide a machinewhich breaks the bond between the floor covering, as linoleum or tile,while the machine is moved a long the floor, thereby removing the floorcovering by a chipping or breaking action rather than by a cuttingaction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floor stripping machinewhich removes the floor covering from the original floor or othersupporting surface by a rapidly oscillating blade having a blunt chiseledge, for example, a cutting edge at about 15 measured from thevertical, together with knives which work with the cutter to sever thefloor covering into strips as it is being released from its bond withthe floor surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide on a floor coveringremoval machine means for guiding the removed linoleum or other coveringso that it is rolled ahead of the attendant as he walks the machineforward to strip the floor covering.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine which embodies theprinciples of the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 2-2 ofFigure 1 and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the plane of line 33 of Figure 2and in the direction of the arrows showing particularly the means foroscillating the cutter; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line4-4 of Figure 2 and in the direction of the arrows.

The machine 10 has a handle shank 12 with a handle 14 at one end adaptedto be grasped by a walking attendant as he moves the machine 10 forwardwhile it is performing its intended operation. A fork 16 is attached tothe lower end of the shank 12 and has trunnions 18 carried by it, thelatter mounting the handle for pivotal movement in order to serve as aconvenience for the attendant.

Housing 20 having an open bottom and a motor seat 22 bounded by flange24 is used as a support for the various operative parts of the machine10. The fork 16 is operable for pivotal movement in wells 26 and 28 4United States atent ICC 2 formed in the upper part of housing 20 andtrunnions 18 are mounted in suitable apertures provided in verticalportions of the housing which serve as walls for the wells 26 and 28.

A motor 30 is disposed in the seat 22 and bounded by the flange 24 atits lower end. The motor may be bolted or fixed in other ways to thehousing 20, and has a line cord 32 extending therefrom. This cord passesthrough the handle shank 12 and is interrupted by a switch convenienttothe attendant. The motor 30 must be capable of reasonably high speedin order that the floor covering may be removed by breaking its bondwith the original floor. For example, a speed of about 1450 R. P. M. fora one-quarter horsepower motor is suggested.

Shaft 34 driven by motor 30 is vertically disposed and mounted forrotation in thrust bearings 36 and 38 respectively. 'A bearing supportplate 40is secured to and within housing 20 and has an aperturein whichthe bearing 36 is pressed or otherwise fixed. The lower thrust bearing38 for shaft 34 is similarly secured in an opening in a lower plate 44,the latter extending across a substantial part of the open bottom ofhousing 20. Screws 46 or other fasteners hold lower plate 44 secured tohousing 20. Wheels 47 and 48 are disposed in openings formed in plate44, the wheels being mounted on spindles carried by plate 44, housing 20or both. Wheels 47 and 48 function to support the back part of themachine and form a pivot about which the attendant may rock the machine.

Means for oscillating the cutter 50 are attached to the cutter and aredrivingly connected with shaft 34. The preferred means consist of ashuttle 56 that is retained captive in an opening 58 which is formed inthe blade support 60. Opening 58 has clearance at the sides of it forthe shuttle 56, and there is little or no clearance at the front andrear surfaces of the shuttle which rest on the front and rear walls ofopening 58. .An eccentric 62 is pressed, keyed as at 64 or otherwisefixed to shaft 34 for rotation therewith. An antifriction bearing 64 ismounted on the periphery of eccentric 62, and disposed in the seat 66formed in a central aperture in shuttle 56. In view of the clearance onthe sides of shuttle 56, when shaft 34 is rotated, only the fore and aftcomponent of movement is transmitted to the support plate 60, alllateral components being taken up as lost motion in opening 58. Cutter50 is removahly secured to the support plate 60 by having a portion ofit overlap the support plate and by being bolted, as at 68 thereto. I

Means for cutting the linoleum, tile or other floor covering into stripsas the machine 10 is actuated are attached to the cutter 50. Theycomprise a pair of knives 70 and 72 which are mounted at the outer,lateral edges of the cutter 50 and which rise upwardly therefrom. Thesecutters have their cutting edges terminating forwardly at the leadingportion of edge 54.

In operation, the attendant energizes motor 30 by actuation of theswitch located convenient to handle 14. As the motor 30 is actuated,shaft 34 rotates in its bearings 36 and 38. This rotation is convertedto oscillatory movement of the cutter 50 through the eccentric 62,

shuttle 56 and support plate 60.

The rear portion of the housing 20 is supported on the wheels 47 and 48and the front portion is supported by having it bear on surface 52 ofthe cutter 50. Inasmuch as the motor 30 is capable of rather high ratesof speed and the edge 54 of the cutter 50 is blunt, the bonding materialbetween the floor covering and the floor surface is cracked and brokenas machine 10 is moved forwardly. Once the floor covering is started,that is, a small portion originally removed, surface 52 comes to rest onthe original flo'onand'the remainder of the room, corridor or othercovered flooring is removed instrips as the bonding material is brokenby the oscillation of cutter 50. v

The knives 70 and 72 oscillating with cutter 50 tale vertical cuts inthe flodrcovering'thre'by defining the strips which tend to 'roll up themachine 10 as it is moved forward by the attendant.

Thefront surface 74 of housing 20 is convex and coacts with the innersurfaces 76 and 78 of knives 72 and 70 respectively to form a guide forthe strips of floor covering that are removed from the original floor.These guidesroll the floor covering-forwardly in front of the attendantand the machine 10 as it is moved during its normal operation.

The foregoing is considered as'illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A composition-floor covering stripping machine/comprising a housing, adriven shaft carried by said housing, means drivingly connected to saiddriven shaft for breaking the bond between the covering and floor towhich it is bonded, said bond breaking means including a blade having ablunt chisel forward edge having a face tilted rearwardly approximately15 from a vertical reference plane, and a flat original floor contactingsurface extending rearwardly from said edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS437,414 Felmlee Sept. 30, 1890 1,313,597 Hunter Aug. 19, 1919 2,279,454Fischer Apr. 14, 1942 2,345,425 Phillips- Mar. 28, 1244 2,777,680 RobbJan. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047g5s'9 France July 22, 1953

